Soursop is a delicious tropical fruit that is rich in nutrients, suitable for making dishes such as smoothies or fruit jams,… Let’s refer to the section Cooking Tips to learn how to choose soursop for making jams for Tet holidays that we should know!
1 Choose delicious custard apple based on color
When selecting custard apples, you should observe the color of the outer skin:
If the skin is yellow-green or light yellow, firm, and shiny, then these are custard apples that are just ripe, with white flesh inside, a distinctive aroma, and rich in nutrients.
Avoid selecting custard apples with gray-green skin, mottled and uneven on the surface. The skin of the fruit should not be dull and rough, as these are still green, unripe, and not delicious.
2 Choose custard apples based on the spines of the fruit
Ripe and delicious custard apples will have soft, large spines with a considerable distance between them.
You should not choose custard apples with many sharp, hard spines close together, as these may be unripe fruits, bitter in taste, or have been artificially ripened for sale.
3 It is advisable to buy custard apples in season
The best custard apples are usually around May to August and November to January of the following year. In-season custard apples typically have very soft, fragrant, and firm flesh, while also minimizing the use of harmful ripening chemicals.
If you buy custard apples out of season, they are often not tasty, prone to pests, insects, or bee stings. The flesh inside will be sour, drier, and the fibers will be disjointed. Especially, out-of-season custard apples usually have a quite high price.
4 Use your hands to feel the custard apple to choose a good fruit
When selecting custard apples, you can use your hands to gently squeeze the fruit to feel the firmness or softness of each one. If the outer skin is hard, then this is an unripe fruit.
If the outer skin is too soft, then this is an overly ripe custard apple, prone to spoilage and sometimes even damaged inside.
You can gently tap the body of the fruit; if it makes a loud, echoing sound, then these are hollow fruits inside, and they won’t taste good.
5 How to distinguish between custard apple and northern custard apple
Custard apple is also known by another name that people in the North prefer to use, which is northern custard apple, but it is completely different from the northern custard apple in both external characteristics and taste.
| Custard apple | Northern custard apple | |
| Name | Southern custard apple | Northern custard apple, wild custard apple, or lục bát |
| Harvest season | From May to August and from November to January of the following year | Around March to May |
| Taste | Sour and sweet, soft flesh, thick pulp | White or slightly pink flesh, mildly astringent, less sweet, and not fragrant |
| Characteristics |
Oval shape, quite large size, usually weighing around 5 – 8kg per fruit There are many spines on the body of the fruit |
Has a shape similar to a mango, rough skin, not smooth. Has alternating green and yellow colors |
During festive occasions, people often prefer to use custard apple jam for snacking. If you want to make a delicious batch of jam yourself, apply the above methods to select good custard apples for making jam!
Refer to some recipes for making custard apple jam for snacking during Tet!
Through this article, TasteVN hopes to bring you some useful experiences in how to choose delicious soursop to make Tet jam. Wishing you success and a batch of soursop jam just to your liking!
